Unique reunion: Mt. Holly celebrates anniversary of 1st state title that came on day of JFK death

The team photo of the state champion 1963 Mount Holly High School football team

By Richard Walker

Published: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 05:53 PM.

IRON STATION – Imagine if one of the most important days of your life happened on a day that’s been forever linked to tragedy.

That’s absolutely been the case for old Mount Holly High’s first state football championship team in 1963.

And while those involved with the Hawks’ football team say what happened on Nov. 22, 1963 made it a “somber day” for all involved, the significance of having played a championship game on that day has been hammered home more than ever in the past month.

Particularly since the 50th anniversary of president John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Tex., has been remembered so frequently in the past month.

It’s the very reason why the 1963 Hawks made a point to remember their history last Saturday night when – one day after the actual 50th anniversary – they held a reunion at Vesuvius Vineyards in Iron Station.

“For us, that day is always going to be remembered for two significant events – one tragic and one that’s not so tragic,” said Bruce Bolick, a senior halfback on the football team. “My family and I were all Kennedy fans, so it’s a day I’ll always remember.”

The significance of that day was evident to those involved, even as their emotions were tugged in so many directions.

IRON STATION – Imagine if one of the most important days of your life happened on a day that’s been forever linked to tragedy.

That’s absolutely been the case for old Mount Holly High’s first state football championship team in 1963.

And while those involved with the Hawks’ football team say what happened on Nov. 22, 1963 made it a “somber day” for all involved, the significance of having played a championship game on that day has been hammered home more than ever in the past month.

Particularly since the 50th anniversary of president John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Tex., has been remembered so frequently in the past month.

It’s the very reason why the 1963 Hawks made a point to remember their history last Saturday night when – one day after the actual 50th anniversary – they held a reunion at Vesuvius Vineyards in Iron Station.

“For us, that day is always going to be remembered for two significant events – one tragic and one that’s not so tragic,” said Bruce Bolick, a senior halfback on the football team. “My family and I were all Kennedy fans, so it’s a day I’ll always remember.”

The significance of that day was evident to those involved, even as their emotions were tugged in so many directions.

For junior cheerleader Susie Alligood Hess, Kennedy’s death was a huge jolt.

After all, since her parents were big in the North Carolina Democratic party, she actually had attended Kennedy’s inauguration in January of 1961.

“I was just dumbstruck,” Hess said. “We had even started a ‘Young Dem’ club in Mount Holly because of him, so I was really involved in supporting him and his presidency. It’s been 50 years and it’s still hard to talk about it.

“On that day, we just kind of made it through the game. It was very somber.”

News of Kennedy’s assassination was relayed through the school’s intercom system by assistant principal Bryan Craig.

“We’re all sitting in Algebra II class and they told us he had been assassinated,” said then-sophomore cheerleader Caroline Smith Bailey. “I couldn’t believe something like that would happen in 1963. You know, I thought it only happened to (previous presidential assassination victims) Lincoln or Garfield or McKinley.”

After the announcement, an impromptu moment of silence was held before students stood in their classrooms as the national anthem was played.

“There was some fear of ‘What’s happening in the world,’” senior co-captain Tommy McConnell said. “Those were the days of some people having bomb shelters in their basements and people thinking that any day it could all come to an end.

“But, as a high school kid, my first thought was, ‘Are we going to play the game?’”

The game was played because North Davidson, located near Lexington, had already departed for Mount Holly’s Costner Field for that night’s 8 p.m. kickoff.

And while players tried to get their “game faces” on, it was impossible to get away from the extraordinary news of the day.

“It was a surreal day,” senior halfback Gene Thompson said. “It’s still really hard for me to remember anything. I know it was a really big day for us, but I remember very little about that game. There’s no doubt it was a distraction to us.”

Coach Delmer Wiles, who died in January 2008, tried his best to prepare the team for what would eventually be a 14-7 win over North Davidson for the Piedmont N.C. 2A championship.

Wiles, a former Marine known for his disciplined coaching methods, made reference to the events in Dallas before preparing for that night’s game.

“Before the game, coach met with us in the gym and we talked about what had happened, then talked about the game,” said McConnell, a 1968 graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., who later would meet four presidents during his 26-year military career that took him to Germany, Panama, Korea and Belgium – Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton.

Bruce Mayhew, then a sixth-grader and the younger brother of football player Boyd Mayhew, was excited before the day began about his chance to perform with the Mount Holly High School band.

But band director Robert Black changed plans and prepared a more patriotic halftime performance after news spread of Kennedy’s death.

Black also put a black ribbon on the flag pole at the stadium in memory of the president.

“When we played the national anthem, it was really, really quiet and everybody had an emotional reaction,” Bruce Mayhew said. “It certainly made for a strange night. You know, you really didn’t know if you should cheer or not.

“I still get a weird feeling thinking about it – and I feel that way every year on Nov. 22.”

Having to share their special day with such a historic national tragedy has created the same sorts of feelings with others.

But Thompson, who along with senior halfback Shan Williams arranged for last Saturday’s reunion, thinks his team and classmates have kept the right perspective about their “celebration.”

“It’s obviously a terrible day when a president gets killed,” Thompson said. “But I think we also think about what we accomplished, the life-long friends that we’ve been and enjoy spending time with one another.

“At least that’s what I’ll remember about this reunion.”

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22